


Artist Meets Teacher

by WanderingWhilstWondering



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:27:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27962258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingWhilstWondering/pseuds/WanderingWhilstWondering
Summary: This is an AU about Dani and Jamie living different lives in a different city.Dani's has always loved writing and teaching and she's in search of a job that fits that.Jamie is a struggling artist with flower petals in her heart.Their paths cross and it seems they both hope that will happen more often.Or the AU where no one dies, is a ghost, finds out they're a ghost or want to become a ghost.
Relationships: Dani Clayton & Edmund O'Mara, Dani Clayton & Jamie, Dani Clayton/Jamie, Hannah Grose/Owen Sharma, Rebecca Jessel/Peter Quint
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	1. Secret Stares & Flying Pencils

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: my first language isn't English, so please disregard any mistakes or mention them for me to fix.  
> Also, the characters don't have any other history together besides this story.
> 
> I'm just a girl who can't let go of the most beautiful romance I never expected to find in a horror series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you'll like this story. I'm still writing and am not sure how long it will take me, but I will make this a finished story.

**Jamie**

Jamie took another sip of her coffee as she twisted the curls of her short, dark hair in her hand. Her watch showed her she’d been working in the café for several hours now. She’d arrived somewhere after lunch and it’s gotten pretty late in the afternoon.

She looked down to her sketchbook at the almost finished drawing she’d been working on. A friend of hers had asked her to draw her a tattoo design of a flower, her favorite thing to draw. But she’d been struggling quite a bit to find the style that’d suit her. She felt like she might as well just throw the whole thing away.

With a sigh she flipped to the next page and just started doodling. It helped her relax a little bit and set her mind straight again.

Suddenly a sound startled her, which wasn’t strange since it was one of the most beautiful sounds she’d ever heard. Without trying to exaggerate. When Jamie followed the sound, her eyes laid on this girl sitting in the corner of the café. She was laughing out loud, but Jamie couldn’t really notice why. After a while she noticed the earphones the girl was wearing and figured she must be calling someone, since she was alone.

Jamie was not a girl to smile easily, and yet the sound she heard made the corners of her lips twitch upward without her consent. There were about three tables between them, but she could swear she saw the stars in the girl’s eyes. An almost too wide smile for her face, a dimple made visible from it. Jamie felt the all too familiar tingle in her fingers to put what she saw on paper as she let her eyes explore soft features, half-long blonde, wavy hair, and two curious light eyes staring back at her…

Jamie’s pencil flew out of her hand as she felt her cheeks heat up. She heard a chuckle coming somewhere from the corner of the café. _Great Jamie, not only does this girl make you smile, she also makes you completely embarrass yourself._

She quickly covered up the far too detailed drawing of the girl as she sat up straight. Did she dare to peek at the girl? As slowly as possible, she turned her head to look. The girl had now opened her laptop and looked focused on what she saw.

Jamie quickly looked around her table for the fallen pencil, which seemed to have disappeared off the earth. She then took another look at the girl, who now had a small smile around the corner of her mouth. Smug even. Jamie rolled her eyes, knowing it probably had to do with her own stupidity.

Irritated, she closed her sketchbook and stuffed it in her bag. The girl in the corner was looking at her laptop again and didn’t seem to notice her anymore.

Jamie wanted to stop looking but found herself unable to. Somehow, she felt herself drawn to this girl with her wavy hair and gorgeous smile. It was driving her crazy. Things like that don’t happen and they certainly don’t happen to her. That’s why she put on her headphones, threw some money on the table for her drinks and left the café without another glance at the girl.

**Dani**

It was a cold October this year, as if Winter couldn’t wait to arrive. Dani dug her hands even deeper in the pockets of her coat as she walked as fast as she could. Two days ago, she’d finally gotten a positive response to one of the many applications she sent out.

Luckily, it was the one at the school she’d had her eye on for a while. They had emailed her back late that afternoon and today was the job interview. She’d been in her favorite café and she liked to think that had something to do with receiving the good news.

As she thought back of that important e-mail she received, her mind immediately went back to the dark-haired girl at the same café. Who she’d found staring at her with such an intensity, that it made her shiver and get very warm at the same time. As Dani had caught the girl staring at her, the girl was startled so badly, apparently, that the pencil in her hand flew to the ground. It had made Dani chuckle, because it looked very funny.

After that, Dani had received an e-mail from the school head about the job interview. While typing a response, she’d noticed the dark-haired girl staring again. But once she sent out the e-mail, the girl had already left.

Before heading out herself, Dani had stepped on something odd, which had turned out to be the pencil the girl had dropped. With a smile, she’d let it slide into her bag.

Shaking her head to get back into now, Dani dodged the many people on the busy sidewalk. Lakewood High School was located just outside of the busier streets. They were in search for a ninth-grade teacher for Language Arts, Dani’s favorite subject to teach.

The kids would be around the age of 14 and were freshmen, new to the school. Kids that age were already quite developed and were able to have good conversations with you, but still had a whole lot to learn. About the world and about who they were. And Dani loved making sure they’d become kind, respectful, loving and open people. Teaching wasn’t just about learning them about books or writing, and that was what she loved about it.

This high school was the one she used to go to as a kid. She wondered if there were still teachers she would remember, who would remember her.

She hadn’t always wanted to become a teacher in a school. She used to work as a homeschool teacher or as an au-pair quite a lot. Even in England when she was younger. But recently she felt like she needed a steadier job. A job that would allow her to go home when the day was done and when a weekend existed of days she was really off work.

Feeling her nose getting colder, she turned around the corner and smiled at the vision of the building she hadn’t seen in years. She’d imagined it even bigger than it was, funny how you remember things when you’re younger.

The building was still majestic though, with its big windows and high walls. The place was greener than it used to be, too. More trees were surrounding it and there were a lot of benches and picknick tables.

When entering the building, she immediately felt like a kid again. It also immediately felt like home. She’d had a good time here and had worked for the school paper till she left the school

After confirming her arrival at the front desk, a woman kindly guided her towards an office on the second floor. In a glass office she saw a man and a woman who she assumed were there to interview her. They smiled welcoming as she entered and asked her to take a seat.

“So Dani, tell me. What makes you a great teacher?”

***

“You got it, you got it!” Rebecca sang as she danced around the room, bottle of wine in her hand. Dani’s best friend and roommate was a silly girl with a heart of gold. Upon arriving back at the apartment, she saw several snacks spread over the coffee table and two glasses of wine.

“Rebecca!” Dani laughed, “I only told you I had a very good feeling about this, nothing’s confirmed!” Yet she couldn’t help but join Rebecca in her happy dance.

“Here, just raise your glass. I just wanted to celebrate, also because I’m proud of you for landing an interview at your former high school.” Rebecca said with a shrug. They clunked their glasses and plopped down on the couch.

“How about we take it to the next level and order some take-out while we’re at it?” Dani suggested while unlocking her phone.

“Well, you know I’m always in for that, but didn’t you have a date with your guy Eddy?” Rebecca noticed the disappointed look on Dani’s face and already knew what was going on. “Did he cancel again?”

“Yep, he did. He forgot about plans with his friends.” Dani answered while sipping her wine. She sighed and looked out the window.

Rebecca wrapped an arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Well, that would mean we could go out tonight? Have some fun?” 

“Yeah, maybe.”

“So, take-out?”

“Take-out.”

**Jamie**

“So, where would be the least painful?” It was a sunny afternoon and Jamie and her friend Owen were enjoying the sun on a bench in the park.

Jamie looked up at her friend with a raised eyebrow.

“Owen, a needle will literally be puncturing your skin. It’s going to hurt like shite anyway.”

Owen pinched the end of his moustache, like he often did when he was thinking hard. He briefly picked up the sketchbook from Jamie’s knee, on which she had drawn him a design for a tattoo. It was a sunflower with a skyline in the center of the flower. It was the skyline of the small town he grew up in, as a reminder of his recently passed mother.

“It doesn’t matter anyway, I just want this with.” He said with a small voice, a sad smile on his face. Jamie put a hand on his shoulder and nodded.

“Just think about it. I know the best tattoo artist in the city, I’ll get you a spot whenever you’re ready.” Jamie said with a shrug. She picked up her pencil and thickened a line on the paper.

“Do you know something? I’ve actually never seen you draw without one of your black graphite pencils. Don’t ask me why I notice this.” He said with a chuckle.

As someone who always watched Jamie draw and even modeled for her from time to time, mostly without him knowing, it actually wasn’t that strange he noticed. The black Blackwing pencils she always used were like a Fender guitar for a musician. She was stuck to the brand.

“I don’t have another one in my bag and I lost the one I had with me.” She said with a shrug. Her eyes on the paper, her mind flying back yet again to the café, the girl, that smile, those eyes…

“Since when are you so cryptic? And why do I get a sense there’s more to the story here?” Owen asked, placing a hand on his hip. Jamie looked up into his brown, trusting eyes.

“It sorta… flew out of my hand.” She said with a tone as if it was the most normal thing to happen to a person.

“What? How?” He asked. Jamie had to laugh because she’d never seen him so confused in all of her life.

“It flew out of my hand, because I… because of this girl. She startled me.”

“Did she pass you by and startled you, or something?” Owen suggested when Jamie didn’t go on.

“No, it was because she looked at me. From the other side of the room.”

“She must’ve been really scare then, or ugly.” Owen joked. But then he saw the look on Jamie’s face and knew it was something else.

“I don’t know what happened Owen. This girl, I just could not stop staring at her. Have you ever experienced that?” Jamie said with a sigh. “It just felt so… strange.”

“You’re blushing.” Owen said sweetly. “And well, I think I know what you’re talking about. What’d she look like?”

“Just, like the sweetest person in the world.”

Owen nodded at that. “Do you want to talk about it some more over dinner? I’m actually starving.”

“That sounds like a perfect idea.”

They had dinner in a small Italian place before both heading home. She could always really talk to Owen, which she really cherished.

With her face hidden in her scarf, Jamie walked away from the busier streets filled with lights to her apartment above the Irish pub. Her favorite pub. Her home. Her street had several pubs and cafés, all sorts of people coming together for a good time. She loved it so much here.

She waved at Viola, the owner’s daughter who was working the bar tonight, before opening her door and heading upstairs. She threw her keys on the kitchen counter and walked over to the stained table in front of the window. Several pencils, brushes and paint tubes were scattered across it. The window overlooked the communal garden, where she had her personal garden which was filled with roses. She had days when her hands would be more dirty than clean.

She made herself some coffee, pushed the window open and sat down. Next to gardening, drawing was her way to process, to calm down her mind. And after thinking back of the girl in the café far too often tonight, she really needed that.


	2. Sun-Bleached Paint & A Kiss Or A Smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dani experiences her first week at her new job and Jamie stumbles upon something that will change her life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey thanks for reading! I hope you'll enjoy it.
> 
> A message for the readers that read Dani applying for a job as at a magazine in chapter 1: I changed it to her applying for a job as a teacher. I suggest you reread the first chapter or just keep that in mind. Sorry! It just fits the story better :)

**Jamie**

After waking up, Jamie took a shower and headed downstairs to the pub in her favorite dungarees for her favorite breakfast. It was the weekend and she felt like she deserved it. The easier reason to treat yourself to something good.

She took a window seat and let the smell of freshly baked goods and coffee fill her nose. As always, it was quite crowded already. The regulars who drank their coffee and read their paper.

Viola was working again. She was a sweet girl and was always very kind to Jamie. Her mother Mia ran the place, but since she broke her leg two weeks ago Viola had happily worked her hours for her. Jamie admired her for that.

“Good morning Jamie, can I get you anything?” Viola immediately came to her with a smile.

“Good morning to yourself. You look like sunshine.” Jamie said, commenting on the yellow blouse she was wearing.

Viola chuckled and shook her head. “You’re so funny. Would you like the usual?”

Jamie frowned and sat up straight. “Come again? I have a usual?”

“Toast with eggs benedict and beans in tomato sauce, black coffee extra strong?” Viola asked while squinting to remember the exact breakfast. Or so it seemed.

“I guess that _is_ my usual.” Jamie said with a smile. “I’d like that, please.”

“Right away.” Viola nodded and walked away.

Jamie opened up the newspaper and started to browse the pages absent-mindedly. She found herself looking for the page filled with applications once again, feeling a knot in her stomach.

Working as an artist was fun because she could use all of her creativity to make something beautiful. She loved that feeling and she loved the freedom of not being stuck behind a shitty desk somewhere in a dull office.

Yet, she found herself struggling to make enough money from it. She had her jobs here and there. Design a new logo, sell her art, paint a wall. But she just felt like this wasn’t _it_ anymore.

She thanked Viola for the beautiful breakfast she served her, fast as always, and took a bite before turning to the next page.

It was the for-sale page and when she read the first article, she nearly choked on her food.

It was about a small corner building that was for-sale, a flower shop. And not just any flower shop, it was the one she regularly used to visit. A lovely older woman by the name of Mrs. Roberts owned the place.

They could talk for hours and she teached her quite something about the art of gardening and flowers. Jamie immediately wondered if nothing bad had happened to her.

In the pictures the shop was still intact, and Jamie could see it all. Before she knew it, she took out her phone to make a call.

“Owen? Are you home? You have to come meet me somewhere. I’ll text you the address.”

Jamie didn’t know what had come over her. She downed her coffee, burned her throat and ate her toast like some animal before leaving a twenty on the table.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw Viola look her up and down like she was crazy. Poor girl that she had to see that. Did she look disappointed? Wasn’t strange considering the way she behaved.

“Breakfast was amazing, thanks. Gotsta go!” Jamie said while almost running out the door. She climbed in her green Jeep and drove to the address of the shop.

When she arrived, Owen was already waiting and was eagerly searching for her. Upon walking up to him, he shot her a look filled with curiosity.

“Hey there, oh caller of mystery. Want to tell me why you had me come running to this place?” He asked.

“Well, I actually really want to show you something.” Jamie said as she started walking. Owen followed her with a look that screamed for more information, but before he could ask she had already stopped.

They were standing at the corner of the street and when Jamie looked at the flower shop, she felt her heart make a jump at the thought that it could become hers. The exterior wood had a sun-bleached, lilac color and the name _Flower Power_ was written in curly letters on the big window.

It wasn’t exactly the style that Jamie liked, but she knew the interior could definitely work for her. In the back was a beautiful, wooden counter with a worktable against the wall and there were vases filled with flowers scattered across the floor.

“Do you want to buy some flowers?” Owen asked her. Jamie peeled her face off of the window and looked at him with a smile.

“Actually, no. Well maybe. But it’s not the reason we came here,” She chuckled. “I saw that it’s for-sale and... well I’d like to see if I can buy it.”

“You want to buy a flower shop?” Owen asked with wide eyes.

“I intend to run it, even.” Jamie said with a shrug, leaning against the window.

“Wow. How? When did you come up with this?”

“This morning actually. I mean, you know I’ve been wanting a different kind of job. And you know how I love my garden and my flowers.”

“Oh yeah, I know that.” He nodded with big eyes. Jamie swatted at him before continuing.

“It just all really makes sense and I felt like this could be really good for me. A new opportunity.”

“You know what? I think this could be one of your greater ideas.” Owen said while opening the door of the shop for her.

“What are my worse ideas then?” She asked him while stepping through the door. The smell of flowers and damp filled her nose and honestly, it smelled like home. Both literally and figuratively.

“Remember when wanted to become a baker? Please, never bake again.” Owen said with a laugh, the sound echoing against the walls of the shop.

“Good morning you two, how can I help?” An older woman walked up to them with a smile.

“Mrs. Roberts, good morning!” Jamie smiled.

“Oh hello Jamie! It’s so nice of you to stop by! Sorry I didn’t recognize you for a moment, my eyes aren’t what they used to be.” She said apologetic. “You even brough a friend here!” She added, shaking Owen’s hand.

“That’s really no problem Mrs. Roberts. How are you doing these days?” Jamie asked.

“Ah you know what it is, old lady bones. It’s gotten worse lately. My husband makes me work with a cane now!” She exclaimed, revealing a wooden cane from behind the counter. “I hope you won’t be disappointed by this, but I decided to sell the shop because of it.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that… I actually read about it in the newspaper. I’m glad you are okay though; I didn’t know what to expect when I read you wanted to sell your shop.”

“Ah, don’t you worry about me kiddo. I may look like I’m older than God, but I won’t go down easy.”

“I wouldn’t expect any less from you.” Jamie smiled at the older woman and took a breath before continuing. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about selling your shop. I was kind of wondering if you would sell it to me.” Jamie asked.

Mrs. Roberts revealed a smile and her eyes started to shine.

“It doesn’t sound like you’re too sure of what you want when you are _kind of_ wondering,” Mrs. Roberts winked. “To be frank Jamie, it would be an honor.”

With tears in her eyes, Jamie hugged the woman to her heart.

“I promise you I will do your shop good.”

“I know you will kiddo.”

Owen picked out a bouquet as Jamie and Mrs. Roberts went to the back office to make some calls and sign some papers. Mrs. Roberts had everything prepared.

That afternoon Jamie had an appointment at the bank to look at a loan for her to buy the shop.

Unfortunately, it turned out the bank could only lend her half the money she needed. Due to the fact that she didn’t have a stable job with a steady income. Even though she had quite the amount of savings.

Defeated, she left the bank. Owen, who didn’t want to miss a single thing of this adventure, had been waiting for her at a café across from the bank.

“What’s up, love?” He asked her, worry on his face from the sight of her.

Jamie let herself plop down on the chair across from him.

“Looks like I won’t be buying the flower shop. Unless I can magically find some money trees.” Jamie answered, looking down. “Or if I sold my soul to the devil maybe.” She ended on a more serious note.

“How much do you need?”

“Half of it. I can only lend half of the bloody money. Shall I ask Mrs. Roberts if she wants to sell me half her shop then too?” Jamie suggested with big eyes, throwing her hands up in the air.

Owen shook her head at her, a smile around his lips.

“You won’t have to do that, I can lend you the other half.”

Jamie, who was about to go off in another rant, looked at him as if he’d grown horns and a tail.

“Owen, my sweet darling. I know you’re making more than me working as a sous-chef, but you can’t have saved enough to lend me half now do ya?” Jamie asked softly, putting her hands on his.

“You’re absolutely right Jamie, but it’s not about saving. It’s about inheriting. Look, when my mother died, she left me a small fortune. Not only was she good at saving coupons, she was also great at saving money. And besides that, me and my sisters also sold her house. My mom left me enough money to buy that shop for you, if you’d like.”

Looking up at Jamie, the girl had her mouth wide open with shock.

“You’re not buying me anything with your money Owen, I wouldn’t, couldn’t…”

“Well I’m doing with it what I want to. Besides, you know how much my mom loved you J.”

For a moment, all Jamie could do was stare at him. Her brain processing the words. And then, for the second time today, Jamie’s eyes welled up as she grabbed her friend over the table in a hug.

“Would you really want to help me buy the shop? We could be co-owner you know, that would be fun.” Jamie exclaimed.

Owen shook his head.

“This is your adventure Jamie, I just want to help you go live it. From the sideline that is. I was going to invest it in some organization, but I’d much rather invest it in you.” He said with a shrug.

“You are insane Owen. In the best way.” Jamie said, shaking her head. “But you’re not buying me the entire shop. That is too much.”

“You want to go halfsies?” Owen asked.

“Halfsies it is.” Jamie said, still in disbelief. “Now where’s that waiter, I really could use a drink. I’m ordering the biggest bottle of champagne they have.

**Dani**

It was Dani’s first week as a Language Arts teacher at Lakewood High. A day after her job interview, they’d already called her that it was clear to them it should be her. Even though a couple of more people were to come in that week. Dani couldn’t believe it when they told her. She must’ve left quite the impression…

She’d given a few classes already and she quite liked it here. It was still strange to be in front of the class in this school rather than being a student herself, but she could definitely get used to this.

She’d made a few mistakes during her first classes, because she was still a little nervous sometimes, but the kids hadn’t given her a hard time for it.

They were new to this school as well as her and she bet they could only imagine how she must feel. It helped when she was open about her mistakes, she noticed. They only showed understanding and even helped her when they could.

Today was Thursday and even though she knew all the ins and outs of the school building, every teacher was new to her. Every _colleague_ was. There were a lot of them, but luckily each grade had their own classrooms and their own teacher rooms. Which meant the mostly only saw the colleagues that teached the ninth-grade as well. There were about ten of them she’d say. At the moment they were still just faces.

It was around lunch time, and since she had a free hour next period, Dani decided to get some food. The big school cafeteria was filled with eating students. The sound of laughter and chatter filled the room and made Dani smile.

As Dani got her lunch and sat down at an empty table in the teacher area, she pulled out some papers from her back. Yesterday she’d asked her students to write a short narrative about themselves, which they could make as creative as they’d like. Reading through them, she felt her heart warm. Each and every student was so unique in their personality and their writing. She just loved it.

Searching for a pen to add some notes to a paper, she pulled out a pencil. It turned out to be the black pencil the dark-haired girl had lost in the café, and a feeling she didn’t quite understand filled her heart.

She held it up in the light to read the brand once again. She didn’t know why, but the pencil was quite dear to her. She liked the idea to someday see this girl again and give it back to her. I mean, she would’ve wanted it back herself if she’d lost it.

Suddenly out of nowhere, someone grabbed the pencil out of her hand from behind her.

“Thanks, I just needed a pencil!” A voice said. Once the person came walked around her, she recognized him as the history teacher. Peter Quint was it?

“Mr. Quint, I don’t think it’s very appropriate of you to just steal my pencil like that.” Dani said with a smile. He was wearing proper clothing, very proper for a high school, Dani thought.

Peter sat down in front of her and studied the pencil. “You have a quite expensive taste in pencils, Ms. Clayton. Or is it Mrs. Clayton?” He asked with a cheeky smile and his thick accent.

“Miss Clayton is just fine, thank you very much.” She said while holding up her hand.

After squeezing his piercing, blue eyes at her, he handed back the pencil.

“Lunch breaks are for eating, you know?” Peter said before biting in an apple.

“I know I know, it’s just… these are my students’ first assignments and I really want to talk to them about it and give them notes on how they can grow.” Dani shrugged as she grabbed her sandwich for a bite.

Peter nodded at that and stared at her, as if he were trying to figure her out.

“So how are you liking your first week so far, Clayton?” He asked.

“I quite like it here. See I used to go here as a kid, so it’s just funny to now be the teacher.”

“Oh, so you were a student here? You must know all the secret hideouts then, the places where the seniors go for a kiss or a smoke.” He asked, that same cheeky grin again.

Dani shook her head at him with a chuckle. This guy was just trouble. She was glad she didn’t have him in her classes as a young boy. He seemed like the kind of man who could get anything or anyone he liked.

The funny thing about his question was, she _did_ know where to go for a ‘kiss or a smoke’. Although she never smoked, she did kiss some boys under the bleachers. Behind the cafeteria. A girl in the locker room… She knew where to go. Not that she was going to tell cheeky Peter here all that.

“Actually no, I don’t know. I never was that kind of girl.” She answered with a grin, gathering her things to leave. “And I certainly never smoked.”

“I believe _every_ word you say Miss. Just ask if I ever need to point them out to you.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will. Goodbye Peter.”

***

At the end of the day, Dani stayed at school to finish grading the narrative assignment in the teacher room.

“Hey, Dani was it?”

Dani looked up to see a woman come up to her she hadn’t met before. She wore golden earrings and lipstick in the same dark red as her blouse.

“Hello, yes I’m Dani Clayton.” She said, shaking the woman’s hand. The woman sat down across from her and smiled.

“Nice to meet you Dani, I’m Hannah Grose. I’m the drama teacher here. Are you liking it so far at this school?”

“Nice meeting you too Hannah. Yes, I like it very much, the kids are amazing.”

“Good, good.” Hannah nodded. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something. See, at the end of the first half-semester, there’s always a play for the students that want to participate. Me and some of the teachers team up to make sure everything will be organized correctly. So, I was wondering if you’d like to be a part of it as well.”

“How amazing, I could actually love that! What is it about? Maybe I can go over the theme or the script of it during my classes.”

“Ah that’s just great Dani. It’s going to be a musical about the Addams Family.” Hannah took some papers out of her bag and handed them to Dani. “This is the script and some mood board images. I would love it if you could use it in your classes, however you like it.”

“Such a great theme, the students must love that. At least I’m looking forward to it.”

“Oh, and the students can apply for a role until the end of next week, good to know.”

“I’ll discuss it with them. Thanks Hannah.”

“Thank you, Dani. I’ll get back to you about the organization of it.” Hannah said before waving sweetly and leaving the room.

A play of the Addams Family huh. Guess that’s better than the same old Romeo & Juliet. She looked through the images of the mood board and felt herself getting excited about it.

***

That evening Dani and Rebecca had dinner together for the first time this week. Seeing as Rebecca worked as a nurse in the hospital, she always had a different schedule. For the first time they could really talk.

As they ate their pasta carbonara, Dani excitedly told her about her new job and how her week was going.

“Oh, I remember mister Benson. He was _very hot_.” Rebecca said, still swooning over the man she hadn’t seen for about ten years. “Does he still work there?”

“Ah I remember him! Nah not one teacher we knew works there still. But there’s one teacher who I think you’d like.”

“What’s he called?”

“Peter Quint is his name. Terribly handsome and almost rude.”

“Ah, sounds exactly like my type.” Rebecca said, leading to Dani rolling her eyes at her.

“You should find a man who, for once, _isn’t_ terribly handsome and rude.” Dani suggested with a grin. Rebecca just shrugged.

“I’ll find that man when I’m done dating naughty boys.” She laughed. Dani swatted at her and gathered their plates.

“Hey, did you know that little flower shop you like closed?”

“What? Which one do you mean?”

“The one with the horrible purple on the outside, _Flower Power_ was it?”

“I like that color! No, has it closed? Ah I love that shop, that lady’s always too kind.”

“Well, it isn’t closing down, someone else is taking over I heard. A younger woman.”

“Hmm alright. As long as she keeps the color on the outside, I’m happy.”


	3. Old Colors & New Faces

**Jamie  
** Things were easy when you’re experienced in things like designing a logo and creating a website. You never had to go find someone else if you needed those things of your own.

Mrs. Roberts and Jamie had filled out all the necessary paperwork and arranged everything with the bank and the notary, which meant the flower shop was officially hers. She still couldn’t believe it.

It may be Jamie’s shop now, but Mrs. Roberts couldn’t help but be there. One day she came in with her husband to supervise the painters, because god forbid they’d mess it all up. The next day she came by to supervise on the rose arch Jamie was making for the opening. The day after, she came by with coffee for everyone.

It was sweet really, she just couldn’t say goodbye to her shop and Jamie fully understood. Therefore, she’d told the older lady she was always welcome to come help out in the shop or just come by for a chat. Which seemed to give the woman some peace.

As the shop was a beautiful building in a lively street, enough people had already noticed the shop was being taken over. Even when she was just minding her own business in the pub or in the city, left and right strangers asked her about the shop.

Jamie just couldn’t get used to it, but decided it was good for her shop. It was a big city, but at the same time it was small. News spread like wildfire and everyone seemed to know each other here.

It was sweet how many people were willing to help her out with all the cleaning, the organizing, the painting…

Yesterday, Owen’s three sisters had all come by with scones and coffee and the day before it was Mia in a wheelchair being pushed by Viola.

You would think that with a lot of people things would go fast, but that really wasn’t true. It was quite the opposite to be honest. But Jamie didn’t mind. She liked the chatter, the laughter. Having a drink together late at night when the paint was drying, seated on uncomfortable wooden folding chairs.

Shaking out of her thoughts, Jamie climbed out of her jeep into the cold. It was an early morning and Jamie pushed her keys in the lock to open the front door.

The smell of paint and freshly cut wood came over her, which was pretty calming. It was quite a big space now that it was so empty. She had hand-cut the wooden shelves, open cabinets and small, round tables to present the special bouquets. It was a pretty kind of wood, so she had decided to not paint those.

Jamie looked around and felt happy with the result as it was. Three walls were white, whereas the wall behind the counter was an ocher yellow. That wall would be filled with several shelves and lots of plants.

Beside the counter was a long, wooden worktable, where Jamie would cut and arrange the bouquets. There was also the door that led to the back, where she’d set up a small office. It was also the storage room for the soil, tools, plants and flowers.

Jamie walked to the big cupboard in the back and took out the buckets of paint that got delivered yesterday. Finally, the colors for the exterior were mixed.

It was going to be a beautiful warm, rusty orange on the outside walls, whereas the doors and the windows would be painted the same ocher yellow as the wall inside. Finally, the wooden panels at the bottom would become a sea green color.

Jamie really liked the retro vibes it gave off. Picking up her cleaning and painting tools as well, she walked outside and set everything up.

The sun started to shine as her face and her hands got colder, but she wasn’t stopping. The rusty orange looked beautiful on the classic wooden exterior you’d expect on a flower shop.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed someone walking up to her.

“Good morning, I have to say that color looks beautiful!” A woman said, pointing at the orange Jamie had started with. Jamie looked up to her and noticed black, curly hair and dark eyes.

“Thank you so much! Although it looks a bit strange combined with the old, lilac color doesn’t it?” Jamie asked with a smile.

“It really does,” The girl chuckled. “But I’m glad it will be gone; I’ve always found the color to be horrible.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Jamie said, looking at the lilac.

“I’m Rebecca Jessel by the way, I live a couple of blocks that way.” She pointed. “Me and my roommate have bought quite some plants and flowers from the former owner. Is she retiring? I mean, as she became quite old.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jamie Taylor. And yes, Mrs. Roberts is retiring. Although don’t worry, you’ll still find her here. The past week I almost had to kick her out sometimes.” Jamie laughed and Rebecca joined.

“Have you already decided on a name for your shop? Or will you keep it _Flower Power?”_ Rebecca asked, trying to keep a straight face.

“ _Never in my life.”_ Jamie said with big eyes and a smile. “I’m going to change it to _The Leafling_.”

“ _The Leafling,_ gosh I love that name.” Rebecca nodded. “I can’t wait to come by when you’ve opened. Do you already know when that’ll be?”

“Cheers! I plan on opening this Friday actually, if everything goes the way it should.”

“Well, I will definitely stop by then. Friday it is. Good luck and it was nice meeting you!” Rebecca said as she started walking away.

“Thanks so much, I’ll see you Friday then!”

“Oh!” Rebecca turned around. “And I’ll make sure to bring my roommate too!”

“The more the merrier!” Jamie yelled back.

**Dani**

Coming back from her jog, Dani found Rebecca having a coffee at the kitchen table, the sun shining on her face.

“Hey! I thought you would be sleeping already.” Dani said with surprise.

On Wednesdays, Rebecca always had her night shift at the hospital and normally she took a nap right after.“I know, I just don’t feel like sleeping the day away. It’s such a beautiful morning.”

“I totally understand, I went jogging through the park and the air is just so crisp.” Dani agreed as she poured herself some coffee. She sat down across from Rebecca, who was browsing the newspaper.

“Oh, look at this picture!” Rebecca pointed at the newspaper, where a small article was written on the flower shop that was being taken over by Jamie. On the picture you could only see what the shop looked like before. “I literally _just_ walked by that shop this morning and met the new owner. She’s taking over from Mrs. Roberts.”

“Ah I heard about that! That is so cool, what was she like?”

“She’s really kind, pretty too. I spoke with her for a moment. You don’t often see someone our age opening up a flower shop, you know?” Rebecca said.

“Hmm, I guess you’re right about that. I could do something like that someday, too.” Dani said with a serious face.

“I know Dan, that is definitely something for you.” Rebecca said with a smile. “By the way, Friday is the day the shop opens and I told that girl we’d come visit.”

“Well, that depends, is she keeping the lilac color?”  
  
“No of course not Dani, anyone with the slightest amount of taste can see that it’s was an ugly color.” Rebecca said, teasing her friend.

**Jamie**

Taking a sip of her beer, Jamie kept her eyes focused on the screen before her. She was sat in her favorite spot in her favorite café. She’d been working on her website and was ordering some more business cards.

She couldn’t help but look up every now and then, at the spot where the girl had been sitting a few weeks ago. She could still remember her smile, her hair… everything really. A part of her was hoping she would just walk right through the door and sit down in the same exact spot.

Jamie wondered what she would do if that happened. She thought of their eyes meeting again, smiling at each other. She felt her skin tingling from the idea. If only the other woman still remembered her. Maybe she’d never given her a second thought.

Jamie shook her head and tried focusing again, which wasn’t working out. She closed her laptop with a sigh and looked at her watch. A feeling of happiness washed over her as she realized this time tomorrow, her shop would be open. Just one more day.

Mrs. Roberts had kindly offered to bake flower cakes for the opening and Jamie would make sure there was enough hot coco and coffee for everyone. Owen’s sweet sister Kira had made her a playlist for the shop filled with flower songs like Bon Jovi’s ‘bed of roses’ and Zed’s song ‘Daisy’.

Yesterday, Jamie’s supplier had delivered loads of flowers and plants and the shop now looked like a jungle. In the best way.

After Jamie finished her beer, she decided to go to her shop once more. Just to check if everything was all set.

When she arrived, she felt her heart warm at the sight of _The Leafling_ in neat letters above the door. Walking through the door, she couldn’t believe her eyes at how amazing it looked.

Finally, all the dust was gone and the shop looked exactly like she imagined it to be. In the left corner of the store was a small coffee corner with three small, round tables and a coffee machine that fit the shop. Jamie imagined the customers would enjoy having a coffee with the smell of fresh flowers.

She just stood there, admiring her shop, when she heard the door open. Viola peeked her head inside with a small smile.

“Hey Jamie, I hoped to see you here.”

“I never not seem to be here.” Jamie joked. “Come one in, it’s warmer here.”

The woman closed the door behind her and smiled at Jamie. She didn’t seem to be dressed for the weather, Jamie noticed. She only wore a leather jacket, which was open too, revealing an obvious décolleté.

“Wow, I can’t believe what you’ve done with the place!” Viola exclaimed, flicking her hair over her shoulder. “It looks so different now than a few days ago.”

Jamie blinked and suddenly had a feeling why Viola had come over.

“Thanks a lot, everything’s now all set for tomorrow. At 8.30 in the morning, I’ll be opening for the first time.”

“I actually have something for you, just something small.” Viola said while opening her bag.

She took out an envelope and handed it to Jamie. It turned out to be for a voucher for a restaurant close to the shop.

“It’s good for dinner for two.” Viola said as she expectantly took a step closer to Jamie. 

“Jeez, thanks Viola.” Jamie said, feeling a bit awkward at the sudden tension. “That’s really kind of you. I don’t know what to say…” Jamie said, looking at the other woman with raised eyebrows.

“That’s okay Jamie, you don’t have to say anything actually.” Viola said with a hopeful look in her eyes. Before Jamie knew it, she closed the small distance between them and kissed Jamie on her lips.

Okay, Jamie had not expected that… she gently detached herself from the other girl and took a step back, her hand hovering over her lips.

“Wow, umm sorry. I didn’t really see that coming.” Jamie said, pushing her hand through her hair. Viola blushed and looked down.

“Sorry, I…I’ve liked you for a little while. I just had a now or never kind of feeling.” She explained with a small voice.

“I feel so stupid, I’ve never noticed that before.” Jamie said.

Actually, she had never even thought about Viola as anything other than a friend. She certainly was beautiful and kind, making Jamie wonder why she’d never given her a chance.

“That’s alright, I guess I’m kind of bad at showing my feelings.”

“I’m sorry Viola, I just never thought....” Jamie started before sighing. “Look, maybe now just isn’t the best time for me to be dating someone anyway, I think I just need to focus on my flowers and myself for a while.

Viola nodded in understanding, but Jamie could see hurt in her eyes.

“I really wish that were different.”

“I know Viola, I’m sorry.”

***

Jamie hadn’t slept very well after tonight, after Viola kissing her out of the blue. It had opened new perspectives for her. She’d just never expected Viola to like her. But it wasn’t like Jamie had been searching for love either.

  
She had known love in the past, but she’d been hurt enough to let herself open up to someone just like that. Her heart’s been stepped upon too many times for her to trust getting it back out there without that happening.

Deciding that love wasn’t for her right now, she stepped out of her bed an hour earlier than planned and put on the kettle for some tea. Distracted, she sat down at the table in front of her window and browsed through her sketchbook.

Ever since she’d thought of buying the flower shop, all she could draw were flowers. She’d drawn several flower bouquets, naming the used flowers on the side of the paper. She’d come up with several bouquets good for weddings, for happy days, for people who loved spring… she just couldn’t stop coming up with new ones and drawing them. She’d send over a few of her drawings to her supplier, so they could help her pick out better combinations for different seasons.

Turning the next page, Jamie startled herself as she was met with those dreamy, blue eyes and wavy hair she’d imagined seeing again. She felt quite ashamed to admit she’d drawn the girl from the café several times.

The whistling kettle brought her back to now and she poured herself a cup of tea. She was so excited for today. She hoped people would still like the shop as it is now and would come by.

After eating some toast, Jamie took a shower. She decided it was a good day for her favorite, blue-burgundy striped flannel and her denim dungarees. Jamie was all ready for the day.

She jumped in her Jeep and drove over to her shop. Owen arrived shortly after her to help prepare for the day, which was very sweet of him.

“Big day, love. How are we feeling?” Owen asked her as he got Mrs. Roberts’ cakes out of the fridge in the coffee corner.

“I’m feeling good! Could’ve slept better, but it is what it is.” Jamie answered.

“Good, good. Here, let me make you some coffee to fix that.” Owen said, trying out the coffee machine.

He couldn’t seem to figure out how it worked though, and Jamie pushed him aside with a chuckle. After she showed him how it’s done, they had a cup of coffee together.

“Owen, know that I really appreciate you being here and helping me out so much. But please, don’t forget about your own life.” Jamie said.

“I know, I know. Thanks J, but at the moment there isn’t really going on much besides work. I really wish that were different though.”

Jamie nodded, knowing what he meant. Owen had never been good at being alone, the opposite from Jamie really. He needed a partner, a lover. Someone to take care of. That’s when he was best. She’d seen it with her own eyes.

Unfortunately, Owen’s long-term relation had ended almost a year ago. It had taken him long to recover from it and now that he finally was ready for someone new, he couldn’t find her.

“Didn’t you have a date last Sunday? How’d that go?” Jamie asked him.

“Ah yes, actually it went well. That is until her ex-boyfriend came over and begged her to take him back. Turned out he was quite the stalker.” Owen told. “Worst part was when she left the restaurant to go with him.” Owen started laughing in the end, but Jamie could tell he was hurt.

“Bloody hell, Owen. That is one wicked story.”

“It’s alright. I have another date this Saturday. My neighbor set me up, so it’s kind of a blind date.”

“Go for it mate, you’re as nice and handsome as they come. If things were different you know I would hook you.” Jamie joked, getting a smile out of her friend.

“Alright, alright. Don’t you have a shop to open?” He smiled. Jamie patted him on the arm and shot him a smile, before they stood up.

Owen cleaned up the cups as Jamie took a round of watering the plants. At 8.30 sharp, she turned the label on the door to “Opened” and put the sign outside that told passing people the shop had been newly opened. Expectantly she looked at the doors, as if suddenly a crowd would come bashing through the doors.

“They will come Jamie, you’ll wait and see.” Owen said with a nod.

Jamie went to the back to get some more plates for the cake and to her surprise, as she came back, she found several people inside her shop.

Jamie smiled at Owen as she welcomed her first customers.

***

It turned out to be a busy first day. There were loads of people who just came by out of curiosity, to have a chat and a piece of cake. But there were also a lot of people stopping by to buy something. Multiple people had told her that the range of flowers and plants she offered was bigger and much better than before.

Jamie kindly took the compliments, feeling grateful that Mrs. Roberts wasn’t here at those moments.

During the lunch hours, the amount of people had decreased and in the afternoon it was as nice kind of busy.

Jamie was just explaining to a customer what kinds of roses she offered and which color meant what, when she noticed a familiar face walking through the door.

It was the woman who came to the shop when she was painting it that morning. Rebecca was her name, Jamie remembered.

As she noticed Jamie too, the girl came over to her. Jamie had just finished talking to the customer about roses and smiled at the dark-haired girl.

“Hey, thanks so much for stopping by. I really appreciate it.” Jamie said with a smile.

“Hello! Jamie right? Yeah of course, I wouldn’t want to miss your grand opening.” Rebecca smiled. “It actually looks amazing here, you did a wonderful job.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’m quite happy with the outcome, too.”

“Oh, by the way, I told you I would be taking my roommate here as well. She’ll be here soon,” Rebecca told her before walking over to a vase. “Oh, I bet she’ll love these, it’s her favorite color.” Rebecca said, pointing at a vase filled with lilac flowers.

“That’s nice, I would love to meet her. And yes, it’s a pretty color. Except for on exteriors of buildings.” Jamie joked, making Rebecca laugh. “Anyway, there’s cake, hot coco and coffee over there. Please help yourself.”

Rebecca’s eyes lit up at her words as she made her way over to the cake, making Jamie chuckle. Such a kind, silly girl.

The customers were having some coffee and were just looking around, so Jamie quickly decided to get some more flowers from the back. As she came back, she dropped them on the table next to the counter and started organizing them.

Some red lilies for the vases in the front, a couple of daisies, some yellow daffodils..

The bell rang, alerting Jamie that a new customer came through the door. Looking up, Jamie just didn’t expect the customer to be _the girl_ from the café…

Blinking, she looked again to see the same beautiful features, blond hair falling in soft waves around her face, and blue eyes looking directly into hers.

For a moment, it was as if all time and sound had just stopped existing. The only thing Jamie could hear, was her own heartbeat. The only thing she could see was the beautiful woman standing in her shop.

Jamie just couldn’t believe they would ever meet again. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rebecca moving towards the girl and saying something to her.

Having her hand still on the door handle, letting the cold wind in, the woman finally peeled her eyes off of Jamie and closed the door behind her.

She started talking to Rebecca, who eagerly pointed at she flowers around them. Jamie now understood that the girl had to be Rebecca’s roommate…


End file.
